Blog>13 Must-Have Shopify Apps for Your Site

13 Must-Have Shopify Apps for Your Site

Discover 13 essential Shopify apps from A/B testing and customer retention to search optimization and data management platforms to enhance your store’s performance.

8 minutes
Shopify Apps

There are over 10,000 apps currently offered on the Shopify app store. Many of these apps can tremendously help improve your site, but with such a large variety available, it can be difficult to choose the right ones for your business. It is highly important to choose the right third-party apps for your Shopify store because too many unnecessary apps can significantly slow down your site. 

The speed of your site has one of the greatest impacts on overall performance. A three-second loading time can cause a 32% higher bounce rate compared to a one-second loading time (Google Research). Each app downloaded from the Shopify app store embeds a code to your site’s theme, and even when uninstalled, some pieces of code may remain in the theme, tremendously impacting load times. 

Installing the right Shopify apps and keeping them to a minimum is crucial for optimal performance. From product review and loyalty program apps to landing page builders and data management tools, we’ll explore the top apps for your Shopify store. 

Compose

Compose App

Category: A/B Testing 

Rating: 5 Stars 

Compose is an A/B testing platform designed to help users make data-driven decisions to improve conversion rates for their Shopify store. With seamless Shopify integrations, users can easily conduct no-code split theme and split template tests to experiment with different images, product pages, product descriptions, CTAs, and more. Small tweaks based on real user data can significantly impact conversions, and Compose’s pay-as-you-go model, for $0.0012 per monthly tracked user, makes it an affordable choice for all businesses, regardless of size. 

Smile

Smile App

Category: Loyalty Program 

Rating: 4.8 Stars 

Smile is a loyalty and rewards program that is designed to help Shopify merchants increase customer retention and engagement. It allows store owners to create and manage loyalty points, referral programs, and VIP rewards to encourage repeat purchases and customer loyalty. The app works directly within your Shopify store and connects with apps like Klaviyo, Mailchimp, and Shopify POS. Smile offers a free basic plan with base-level features such as the points program, referral program, basic branding, default rewards emails, and analytics overview. To unlock further features, such as customizable reward emails, specialized reports, the VIP program, or unlimited integrations, paid plans are available from $49 to $999 per month. 

Tidio 

Tidio App

Category: Live Chat 

Rating: 4.6 Stars

The Tidio app is a live chat and AI-powered chatbot solution designed to help e-commerce businesses improve customer support and increase sales. It allows Shopify store owners to interact with visitors in real time, automate responses, and provide personalized shopping assistance. Key features include live chat, AI chatbots, multichannel support, custom chatbots, automated lead generation, and visitor insights. App users can also use pre-made chatbot templates or design their own workflows with a visual drag-and-drop builder. A free plan is available, with paid plans costing $29 to $749 per month with different features available. 

Judge.me

Judge.me app

Category: Product Reviews 

Rating: 5 Stars 

Judge.me is a product review and rating platform designed to help Shopify stores collect, display, and manage customer reviews in order to build trust and drive sales. It allows Shopify store owners to showcase verified reviews, star ratings, and user-generated content such as photos and videos. App users can also automate review requests to send emails to customers after a purchase, engage with customers through a Q&A section by answering their questions about products, share reviews across multiple stores, and fully customize review widgets to match the store’s branding. Judge.me offers both free and paid plans, costing up to $15 per month for access to all features. 

Klaviyo

Klaviyo App

Category: Email and SMS Marketing 

Rating: 4.6 Stars 

Klaviyo is an email and SMS marketing automation platform that helps Shopify merchants grow their customer base, increase sales, and personalize marketing through data-driven automation, segmentation, and analytics. App users can create and send automated emails and SMS campaigns, target customers based on behavior, and A/B test subject lines, content, and send times to optimize performance. Klaviyo offers both pre-built and customizable email/SMS flows for abandoned cart recovery, welcome series, post-purchase follow-ups, and more, and with their personalization options, users can use dynamic content to tailor messages for each customer. A free plan is offered, with paid plans starting at $20 per month depending on the features needed for your Shopify store. 

Loop

Loop app

Category: Returns Management

Rating: 4.7 Stars 

Loop is a returns and exchange management platform that enables e-commerce brands to streamline the returns process, retain revenue, and enhance the customer experience. It automates returns, exchanges, and store credit options to reduce refunds and improve profitability. Loop offers a self-service returns portal that makes it easy for customers to initiate returns and exchanges and smart exchange options to encourage product swaps instead of refunds. The platform also provides store credit incentives to help retain revenue, and its instant exchanges allow customers to receive a replacement product before returning the original to create a smoother shopping experience. Pricing varies depending on business needs, but a free plan is offered with basic features, and paid plans range from $155 to $340 per month. 

Recharge 

Recharge app

Category: Subscription Management 

Rating: 4.6 Stars 

Recharge is a subscription and recurring payments platform that helps Shopify stores create and manage subscriptions for products and services. The purpose of Recharge is to increase customer retention and lifetime value through many of its different features, such as subscription management, customizable subscription plans, a customer portal, analytics, insights, and subscription bundles. The app seamlessly integrates with Shopify and works with many third-party apps, such as Klaviyo and Gorgias. Recharge offers three different pricing plans with varied feature offerings. The Standard Plan is $99 per month, the Pro Plan is $499 per month, and the Custom Plan is priced on a case-by-case basis depending on business needs. 

PageFly 

PageFly App

Category: Landing Page Builder

Rating: 4.9 Stars 

PageFly is a landing page builder that enables Shopify merchants to create customized, high-converting pages without needing any developer knowledge. Key features include a drag-and-drop editor that allows easy page building with no coding required, customizable templates, and mobile optimization. The platform integrates seamlessly with Shopify, allowing merchants to add sections to any theme effortlessly, and is compatible with many other Shopify apps such as Klayvio, Judge.me, and other marketing tools. A free plan is offered, with paid plans ranging from $24 to $99 per month. 

Algolia

Algolia App

Category: Search Tool

Rating: 4.0 Stars 

Algolia is an AI-powered search and discovery tool that enhances product search, filtering, and recommendations. It provides fast, real-time search results that improve the customer experience and boost conversions. Its AI-powered search delivers instant, typo-tolerant search results with predictive suggestions and personalized recommendations, using AI to show relevant products based on browsing behavior. The app also helps customers refine searches with filters using Algolia’s advanced filtering navigation. Search analytics and insights track customer searches, top queries, and no-result searches to optimize performance. Pricing plans vary based on features, but a free plan is offered, with paid plans being custom-priced based on specific business requirements. 

After Sell

After Sell App

Category: Post-Purchase Upsell

Rating: 4.8 Stars 

After Sell is designed to help Shopify merchants increase their AOV by presenting customers with one-click upsell and downsell offers immediately after their initial purchase. This strategy boosts sales without disrupting the customer’s buying experience. With one-click post-purchase offers, customizable thank you pages, customizable triggers, and personalized offers, After Sell can tremendously increase average order value for your Shopify store. A free plan is available for a limited feature bundle, and paid plans are based on the number of monthly store orders and range from $34.99 to $199.99 per month. 

Snowball

Snowball app

Category: Affiliate Marketing

Rating: 4.9 Stars

Snowball is an affiliate marketing app designed to automate and enhance affiliate, referral, and influencer marketing programs for Shopify stores. By transforming customers into brand ambassadors, Snowball helps boost word-of-mouth marketing to drive sales. Users can easily turn customers into affiliates automatically after a purchase is made and manage their marketing efforts with a comprehensive, centralized dashboard. The app also automatically detects unauthorized sharing of affiliate codes to prevent fraud. Snowball offers tiered pricing, ranging from $99 to $499 per month, to accommodate businesses of all sizes. 

Matrixify

Matrixify App

Category: Data Management 

Rating: 4.8 Stars

Matrixify is a data management platform meant for managing and storing bulk data, imports, exports, updates, and migrations. The app can save Shopify merchants significant time when working with their store data in bulk. Key features of Matrixify include bulk import and export, data migration, scheduled tasks, backup and restoring data, and comprehensive data handling. Extensive data sets can be managed using Excel, Google Sheets, or CSV files, and data can be migrated from Magento, WordPress, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Lightspeed. Pricing for Matrixify ranges from $20 to $200 per month for paid plans and a free plan suitable for small-scale operations. 

Shop

Shop App

Category: Checkout Processing 

Rating: 4.8 Stars 

Shop is a comprehensive shopping assistant designed to enhance the online shopping experience for consumers. It offers features that streamline purchasing, order tracking, and personalized recommendations. The app integrates Shop Pay to allow users to complete purchases quickly across various online stores. Users can also monitor their orders in real time, receiving updates on shipping status and delivery timelines, which reduces any uncertainty. Personalized recommendations to consumers are also provided based on user behavior. The Shop app is completely free for Shopify merchants, allowing any store owner to utilize this checkout enhancer. 

Conclusion

The right Shopify apps can significantly improve your store’s performance. By strategically integrating only the most essential apps, you can build a high-performing Shopify store that delivers seamless shopping experiences to drive long-term success. Whether you’re looking to optimize your checkout process, automate marketing efforts, or develop high-converting landing pages, these apps provide valuable solutions for all of your business needs.